UN agency warns of severe acute malnutrition among Somali children

MOGADISHU, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday warned of severe acute malnutrition for children in Somalia as the number keeps on increasing amid a looming famine in the country.

The UNICEF said the number of Somalia's youngest children aged 6-59 months who are expected to suffer severe acute malnutrition (SAM) has now increased to 513,550 from 386,000.

"To give some terrifying context to this latest number: 340,000 children required treatment for severe acute malnutrition at the time of the 2011 famine. Today we are faced with 513,000 children at risk of death," the UN agency said in a statement.

More than 60 aid agencies on Monday also called on donors to help avert famine in Somalia where 7.8 million people are affected by the severe drought which is ravaging parts of the country.

The agencies under the Somalia NGO Consortium, a network of relief agencies operating in Somalia, called on donors to put forward additional funding in the coming weeks to enable a massive scale-up of life-saving assistance.